Recovery operations to raise the 56-metre British-flagged superyacht Bayesian from the seabed off Sicily, where it sank last summer killing seven people – including the British tech entrepreneur, Mike Lynch – will begin on Wednesday, weather permitting, according to the Italian port authorities.
On 19 August 2024, the luxury vessel, with a 75-metre (246ft) mast, was anchored just off shore near the port of Porticello, in the province of Palermo, when it was struck shortly before dawn by a violent storm. Lynch, once described as Britain’s Bill Gates, and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, were among the victims.
Lynch, who in June last year wascleared of fraud chargesin the US relating to the purchase of his company,Autonomy, by Hewlett-Packard in 2011, was enjoying a lavish voyage around Sicily to celebrate his acquittal alongside Hannah, and his wife, Angela Baraces, whose company owned the Bayesian.
Among those onboard were Lynch’s attorney from Clifford Chance, Chris Morvillo, and his wife, the jewellery designer Neda Morvillo, and Morgan Stanley International’s chair, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife, Judy Bloomer, a former psychotherapist. All four died in the incident. The yacht’s chef, Recaldo Thomas, was the seventh person who died.
Fifteen people survived, including Baraces.
Investigators hope the yacht will yield vital clues: whether a series of human errors led to the sinking, as initially suspected, or if other factors were at play. Once ashore, forensic examination will determine if one of the hatches remained open and whether the keel was improperly raised.
The wreckage sits at a depth of 50 metres in the bay of Porticello, which is under surveillance by Italian authorities.
Experts expect the salvage operation to be fiendishly complex.
Sicilian port officials have declared a 650-metre exclusion zone around the sunken vessel, forbidding “any navigation, anchoring, diving, swimming or fishing until the work is complete”. The recovery, which could stretch on for weeks, has been entrusted to Hebo Maritiemservice and Smit International.
A 55-metre barge, the Hebo Lift 2, will arrive in Porticello soon, its 700 sq metre deck carrying a heavy-lift crane, specialist diving apparatus and a remotely operated underwater vehicle. Offshore, the Hebo Lift 10 – one of Europe’s largest floating cranes – will use its 83-metre boom to hoist the yacht from the seabed.
To facilitate the lift, the master mast of the Bayesian – standing 75 metres tall and weighing over 24 tonnes – will be cut away. Once raised, the vessel will be towed to Termini Imerese, where prosecutors have opened an inquiry into suspected manslaughter. The captain,James Cutfield, a New Zealander, and two British crew members,Tim Parker Eaton and Matthew Griffiths, have been placed under investigation.
Being put under investigation inItalydoes not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will necessarily follow.
Insurers estimate the salvage will cost about $30m (£22.4m), a bill the Bayesian’s underwriters will pick up.
Experts are baffled by how the Bayesiansank within 60 seconds. Some experts speculate the crew may have underestimated the weather bulletin.
Search efforts began within hours of the incident, with divers from the fire brigade working non-stop.
The first body to be recoveredwas that of Thomas, on the afternoon of the sinking. Two more bodies were recovered two days later, those of Jonathan Bloomer and Chris Morvillo. In the afternoon, their spouses were also found.
The following day,Mike Lynch’s body was foundand a few hours later divers recovered the body of his daughter,Hannah, the seventh and final victim.
All of their bodies have undergone postmortem examinations. Lucio Di Mauro, a forensic doctor and technical consultant for the Morvillo’s family, said the victims all died due to “so-called mechanical asphyxia by drowning”.
“It is important to clarify that, in forensic medicine, the determination of death by drowning is particularly complex, as there is no single pathognomonic lesion that alone allows for an incontrovertible diagnosis,” Di Mauro added. ‘‘Nevertheless, the data collected are consistent with this pathophysiological mechanism.”
Last September, Italian authorities requested additional security around the wreck of the luxury yacht, after fears were raised that material in watertight safes onboard could be of interest to foreign governments.
The authorities were reportedly concerned thattwo super-encrypted hard drivesin the sunken yacht’s watertight safes could fall into the wrong hands.
Lynch was believed to have connections to British, American and other intelligence services and hadsold Darktrace, a cybersecurityartificial intelligencecompany he founded, to the US billionaire Orlando Bravo, a co-founder and managing partner of Chicago-based Thoma Bravo, in a $5.3bn (£4bn) deal earlier last year.